Opus 21 Symphony No. 1 in C major
I) Adagio molto – Allegro con brio – II) Andante cantabile con moto – III) Minuetto. Allegro molto vivace – IV) Finale. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace
Opus 21 Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, composed in late 1799 – early 1800, published in separate parts in Leipzig by Hoffmeister & Kuhnel, late 1801; in full score in London by Cianchettini & Sperati (as part of a collection of Classical Symphonies by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven), January–February 1809; in Bonn and Cologne, Simrock, Spring 1822. GA. No. 1 (Series 1/1) – B. 21 – KH. 21 – L. II, p. 1 – No. 21 – T. 71.
Official Title: Opus 21 Symphonie Nr. 1 (C-dur) Widmung: Gottfried Freiherr van Swieten NGAI/1 AGA 1 = Serie 1/1
The original manuscript is lost. Since some sketches of Beethoven’s early symphonic works show a clear connection with the theme of the Finale of this Symphony, various scholars, including Nottebohm, who first reported on these sketches, initially thought that the conception and at least the preparatory work for this Symphony dated back to 1791-1795. However, Nottebohm later acknowledged that the symphony sketched at that time bore little relation to the present First Symphony, which was largely conceived and composed in 1799-1800. Further confirmation comes from other sketches of that same early symphony, found on the last page of the manuscript of the Rondo a capriccio (also known as The Lost Money), discovered in 1915.
Certainly, the First Symphony too was born within a tradition that, although summarized in the more immediate models of Haydn and Mozart, has its roots in a much broader and older soil. But while the trace of some predecessor is evident in the overall architecture and in particular aspects of development, as well as in more than one melodic or rhythmic gesture, it is nonetheless very clear that everywhere the robust spirit of a young composer, confident and forward-looking, is singing, smiling, and playing.
The first performance took place at the Hofburgtheater in Vienna on 2 April 1800, during a concert organised by Beethoven for his own benefit, more than half of which was dedicated to his own compositions: Piano Concerto and Orchestra (probably the B-flat major Op. 19), performed by the composer himself, Septet, Symphony. The orchestra consisted, in addition to the string quintet, of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, and timpani: the richest and most organic ensemble of the time, one which Haydn and Mozart had only reached in their larger works.
Beethoven would later make further additions to this ensemble for certain movements in his subsequent symphonies, expanding the horn section to three and four, introducing the piccolo, the contrabassoon, trombones (two or three), and percussion. In the introduction (Adagio molto), the home key is not immediately assertively established, as common practice might have allowed, but rather reached and solidified through a series of modulating cadences. This procedure, though not unknown to the musicians who preceded him, here seems particularly indicative of that sense of “becoming” that animates Beethoven’s eloquence, and with the repeated impulse of the first theme, it dominates the entire ensuing Allegro as a characteristic of movement, prevailing over any other secondary, relaxing element, right up to the conclusion, which is already concise and energetic in the manner of Beethoven (also, however, see the rhythmic and instrumental magnification at the end of the first movement of Mozart’s Symphony in the same key, K. 338).
The Andante cantabile con moto reveals, in its melodic profile and transparent yet vigorous counterpoint (as the corresponding movement in the Op. 18 No. 4 string quartet would also have done), a distribution of rhythm, harmonies, symmetries, and contrasts in a rare combination of unity and lightness.
One of its distinctive features is the role the timpani play, now inserting a concise and obstinate rhythmic figure into the flowing melody of certain passages, now accentuating the effectiveness of some dynamic and timbral alternations. This marks the first assertion of the timpani’s individual voice in Beethoven’s scores, with more notable examples to follow: in the second and third movements of the Eroica, in the second movement of the Fourth Symphony, in the finales of the Third and Fifth Piano Concertos, in the Finale of the Eighth Symphony, in the Scherzo of the Ninth Symphony, and in the prelude to the prison scene in the second act of Fidelio.
The Minuetto (Allegro molto vivace), in its rhythmic and melodic profile, differs from those of Haydn and Mozart and is already, despite the name, a true Scherzo. The movement itself, more dynamic and melodically unadorned than the usual symphonic Minuet, confirms this distinction. The Trio, with its characteristic wind theme, around which the connecting and ornamental figures of the violins swirl, is a celebration of pastoral joy, which is magnified by the crescendo, with the gradual layering of timbres and sounds, growing until the fortissimo of the full orchestra.
The Rondo (Allegro molto vivo), gradually introduced by a playful, slow hiccuping introduction (Adagio), which then becomes its initial launching figure, is the lightest and easiest page of the Symphony, whose gaiety seems to dissolve here into a smooth flow of sprightliness. Yet, it leads, if nothing else, to the end — after the two suspended chords stretched out in the emphasis of two crowned points, which perhaps, in their caricatural intent, echo the beginning of the slow introduction — with the seal of that vigorous, new cordiality already impressed at the conclusion of the first movement.
Composition and Publication: Composed in 1799/early 1800. As no sketches or autograph notes remain, the only reference for dating is the performance on 2 April 1800. The original edition in parts was published in November 1801 by Hoffmeister & Comp in Vienna and at the Bureau de Musique in Leipzig. Beethoven had already been working on a symphony in C major between 1794-96, which remained unfinished (see Unfinished Works Unv 2). The theme of the first movement of that symphony was reused in Op. 21, reappearing in the rondo theme of the finale. Sketches directly relating to the compositional process for Op. 21 have not yet been located. A sketchbook from the period between mid-1799 and April 1800 was likely lost during Beethoven’s lifetime (JTW p. 87). Beethoven offered the symphony to Franz Anton Hoffmeister for publication on 15 December 1800. After approval on 24 January 1801, the engraver’s draft progressed alongside that of Op. 19 in Leipzig on 22 April 1801. The title followed in June (still with a dedication to Archbishop Maximilian Franz), and the new dedication to Gottfried Freiherr van Swieten appeared around 17 October 1801. The symphony was probably performed from the printed material on 26 November 1801 in Leipzig (Dörffel/Leipzig p. 31); the publisher sent five sample copies of the edition to Beethoven. The plates of the original edition show clear signs of revision, especially regarding dynamic and agogic markings. This revision occurred, of course, before the printing. After Beethoven received the sample copies, in December 1801, he submitted another list of corrections (BGA 75 and 76) to Hoffmeister’s manager in Vienna, Caspar Josef Eberl, which remained incomplete. The publisher continued making corrections in Leipzig (initially some were still handwritten).
Further corrections appear to have been made in Vienna following Beethoven’s instructions (Raab/NGA I/l p. 149-151). The authentic metronome markings found in the incipit of the symphony come from a pamphlet published by S. A. Steiner around 1817, Bestimmung des musikalischen Zeitmasses nach Mälzel’s Metronom. Erste Lieferung. Beethoven. Symphonien Nr. 1-8 und Septett von dem Autor selbst bezeichnet (VN 2811). No surviving copy of this booklet is known today. However, the metronome markings for the symphonies were published in the Leipziger Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung (19, 1817, 17 December 1817, col. 873f) and were included in the AGA, partly also in Hofmeister/Index 1819 (see Nottebohm/Beethoveniana I p. 130f and Weinmann/Senefelder Vol. 1 p. 157). Various metronomic markings for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movements of Op. 21 were noted in pencil by Beethoven on the last page of the revised score of the March WoO 24. Simrock had the idea to publish Beethoven’s symphonies Nos. 1-6 in full, even though “nothing could be gained by this.” He repeatedly delayed the release date and finally published Symphonies 1 and 2 in the spring of 1822, with the third not appearing before mid-year (BGA 1464 of 13 May 1822).
Dedication: Beethoven initially planned to dedicate the symphony to his former employer, the last Archbishop of Cologne, Maximilian Franz (1756-1801): “composée et dediée / à son altesse Serenissime / Maximilien Francois / Prince Royal d’Hongrie et de Boheme / Electeur de Cologne etc.” (BGA 64 of 22 or 23 June 1801). Maximilian Franz fled Bonn from French troops in 1794 and arrived in Vienna in April 1800. As the archbishop died on 27 June 1801, the symphony was never dedicated to him. Beethoven then opted for another patron: Freiherr van Swieten (BGA 69).
Gottfried Bernhard Baron van Swieten, born 29 October 1733 near Leiden and died 29 March 1803 in Vienna, was the son of the personal physician of Empress Maria Theresa, Gerard van Swieten. From 1755, he was an Austrian diplomat (in Brussels, Paris, Warsaw, and Berlin). After returning in 1777, he became the director of the Imperial Court Library and also the provisional president of the study and censorship commission. Swieten pursued his musical interests not only through his own compositions and the promotion of younger composers such as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, but also through establishing a vast private library, which represented a rich collection of ancient music (Handel, Bach, and Graun). As Mozart attests, music was performed at the baron’s home “on Sundays at 12 o’clock” (NMA 667 of 10 April 1782). As Geschäftsführer of the Vereinigung der ‘Associierten Cavaliers’, Swieten organised performances and oratorios in German, for which Mozart was engaged as arranger and conductor from 1788 to 1790. Among Mozart’s arrangements, we remember his versions of Messiah and other vocal works by Handel. In this context, the oratorios Die Schöpfung (1798) and Die Jahreszeiten, for which Swieten wrote the libretto, were also performed. Beethoven likely met Swieten shortly after arriving in Vienna in 1792. It seems that Beethoven also stayed with him intermittently, as inferred from an invitation dated 15 December 1794 (BGA 18).
First Performance: 2 April 1800 at the Beethoven Academy at the Hofburgtheater in Vienna. Beethoven’s application for permission is dated 19 March 1800 (BGA 45). Announcement: Wiener Zeitung 26 March 1800, p. 965. Report: AmZ 3 (1800/01), 15 October 1800, cols. 49f. Another performance of the symphony at a Beethoven Academy took place on 5 April 1803 at the Theater an der Wien, where the 2nd Symphony Op. 36, the 3rd Piano Concerto Op. 37, and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives Op. 85 were also performed for the first time.
First Edition: (Parts) November 1801. Vienna, Hoffmeister & Comp. / Leipzig, Bureau de Musique, VN/PN 64. — Title: “GRANDE / SIMPHONIE / pour / 2 Violons, Viole, Violoncelle, et Basse, / 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Cors, 2 Fagots, / 2 Clarinets, 2 Trompettes et Tymbales, / composée et dediée / à / Son Excellence Monsieur le Baron / VAN SWIETEN, / Com-mandeur de l’ordre roy. de S’Etienne, / Conseiller intime et Bibliothecaire de sa / Majeste Jmp. et Roy. / PAR / LOUIS van BEETHOVEN. / – Opera XXI. – / à Vienne, chez Hoffmeister & Comp. / ° Leipsic, au Bureau de Musique. / N° 64.”
Beethoven in 1801 – Oil painting By Carl Riedel
Maximilian Franz von Österreich, Erzbischof und Kurfürst von Köln (1756-1801)
Gottfried Bernhard Freiherr van Swieten (1733-1803)
Franz Anton Hoffmeister (Rottenburg am Neckar, May 12, 1754 – Vienna, February 9, 1812)
“Notes in the Dark” – Suggestions and Comparisons for a Quality Beethoven Listening Experience
With a slide of the recordings mentioned in the article – By Federico from Rome.